Insomniacs Club
by Tonyahuqt03
Summary: Dee, Kara, and Lee are having trouble sleeping after the distruction of the Olympic Carrier. No major spoilers for 33. Not beta.


"Dee!" Tigh barked. Dee jerked up. She rubbed her already dry eyes.

"Sir?" She replied weakly trying to focus on the gruff X.O.

Tigh approached her. "Why are you at the comm?" He stood towering over her.

She looked at him oddly. "Working, Sir." She simply replied.

Tigh rolled his eyes. "I can see that." He huffed. " When's the last time you slept?"

She couldn't respond, because she didn't know. She had been at her station so long it felt like it was an extension of her body like an extra arm. She finally was able to gather up words to respond to him, "Not sure, Sir."

"Douglass!" Tigh yelled.

A young man ran up to Tigh. "Yes Col."

"You get Lassik on the line and tell him get his lazy ass up and relieve Petty Officer Dualla."

"Yes Sir." Douglass nodded.

"And you…" Tigh turned his attention back to Dee. He looked at her sternly. "I don't want to see you in the CIC for the next 24 hours. That's an order young lady."

She slowly pulled off her headsets. She looked around the CIC. She didn't notice the shift change. None of the original people where there when she started her shift. She wasn't even sure when she started her shift. "Yes, Sir." Dee took a step, but Tigh stopped her.

Under his breath, "Get some sleep. We need you in here at your best…I can't stand Lassik kid's an idiot."

Dee nodded and left the CIC. On her way out she bumped into Commander Adama. "Commander." She saluted.

"Dee." He replied softly. He looked her up and down. She looked tired and worn out. All the life was drained out of her. Normally she was the bright spot in the CIC. He watched her walk down the hall until he couldn't see her anymore.

Adama joined Tigh at the console. "How's it going?"

"Quiet."

Adama adjusted his eyeglasses. He looked around the CIC at his crew. He never noticed how young they were. Most of them were no older than 20. "Dee just getting off shift?"

"Girl was falling asleep at the console. Been there the whole time. Had to order her to get some rack time." Tigh paused. "She's a good kid."

"They're all good kids." Adama replied softy to Tigh.

* * *

Dee kicked off her boots. She had been up for the last week with about 5 hours of total sleep. The rack was quiet. Everyone was fast asleep. She plopped down on her bed. Her body was tired, but her mind wouldn't let her sleep. It kept reeling. Frustrated she got up.

She walked the halls of Galactica they were quiet, the only sounds were the humming of the ship's engine. She found herself in the pilot's rec room. It was like a ghost town in the room. She sat down at one of the tables and pulled out a picture from her pocket. It was a picture of her and her parents at her high school graduation. They all looked so happy in the picture. But a few hours later she told her parents that she had joined the military.

Footsteps broke her trance. She looked up and Lee Adama was standing at the table. He looked like hell. Dark circles encompassed his redden eyes. He sat down across from her. They sat in silence for a while before Lee spoke up. "Lee Adama." He gave his hand to shake.

"Anastasia Dualla." She shook his hand. He didn't remember meeting her when he first came aboard the ship. She had given him a tour of Galactica.

"Anastasia, that's a pretty name."

Dee looked at him and smiled. "Thanks…no one called me that since I got to Galactica. Mostly people call me Dee here. Only my mother calls me Anastasia." Then it hit her. 5,251 survivors from Saggitaron and her parents weren't among the remaining. "I mean only my mother called me Anastasia."

Lee got up and went to the bar. He picked up two glasses and a bottle.

"The bottom left cupboard there's a false back. Starbuck keeps the good stuff there." She told him.

Lee laughed. He got a bottle of Ambrosia from the cupboard. He poured them both a shot. He took his immediately and poured another.

Dee just glared at her glass. She ran her finger around the rim. "So, why aren't you asleep?"

"Not enjoying my company?" Lee replied. He shot back another.

"No. I just figured that you of all people would be asleep."

"I can't. My mind won't shut down."

"Tried counting sheep? That seems to work sometimes."

"I counted sheep, stars, I ran through all the presidents and vice presidents in alphabetical order…and I keep coming back to one thing…" He poured another and shot it down. "The Olympic Carrier."

Dee froze. "You can't blame yourself. You had your orders…" She rocked the shot in her hand. "I was responsible for counting each ship before we jumped. I missed them." Her voice began to tremble. "64 ships. All I had to do was keep track of 64 ships… there were 1,345 souls aboard the Olympic Carrier." She pushed back the huge lump that was forming in her throat. "They all counted on us to protect them, to guide them to safety. And I forgot them. I missed counted and we left them there for the cylons… "

Lee stopped her. "I shot them down. I was given the order and I shot them down. You didn't mean to forget them. You were sleep deprived, juggling a million things at once, anything could of happened. You didn't, intend forget them. I shot them down. I knew what I was doing when I shot them. I was awake and I pulled the trigger. Not the cylons, not you." Lee poured another shot and took it down. He took her hand. "I pulled the trigger."

"Hey is this the insomniacs club?" Kara Thrace entered the room. She looked at the both of them. "Do you two need a moment? I can leave."

Lee kicked a chair towards Kara. "You're more than welcome to join the party."

Kara sat down. She examined the bottle. "I see you found my stash." She took a swig right out the bottle. The three of them sat in quiet. Kara took another swig of the bottle.

Dee fiddled with the picture of her family in her hand. "Why did the gods even bother sparring their lives if…all my life I was taught that the gods had a master plan that every thing happened for a reason…"

Lee mockingly laughed. "Master plan? There is no master plan. Our fate is our own hands. Not the Gods. They have nothing to do with it. I shot those people down. I had an order and shot them down. Man created the cylons. The reason they exist is because of us. The gods had nothing to do with it." Lee turned to Kara. "People die because of other people. Because they make mistakes."

Kara took a deep breath. Lee's words stung her. She took another swig.

"Dualla!" Tigh barked. The trio turned to see Tigh standing in the doorway. "I thought I ordered you to your rack." He walked over to the bar and got a glass. He poured himself a drink. "I want you in your rack, and if you can't do that you can join Starbuck in the brig." He turned to Starbuck. "Shouldn't you be in your cell?" He swallowed his drink. Poured another. "I want this pity party over and the three of you sleep." Tigh ordered and then left.

Kara gave Dee a wicked smile. "Dutiful Dee disobeying a direct order from Col. jackass. I knew there was a reason why I liked you."

Dee gave her a weak smile. She finally took her shot. The drink burned her throat. She slammed the glass on the table. "I should go."

"See you Dee." Kara said. She waited for Dee to leave before turning to Lee. "What the frak was that?"

Lee poured another drink. "What do you mean?"

Kara shook her head. "Dee's a sweet girl. Don't find too many like her around. She was there with us Lee. The whole time. Every time we went out she was there. She got us home, she always brings us home."

Lee looked at Kara funny. He didn't understand.

"She's Saggitaron."

"I didn't know." He replied solemnly.

Kara poured Lee another drink. "See you around Captain." Kara took her bottle and left Lee to brood.

* * *

Dee knew that she should go back to her rack but her heart wouldn't let her. She walked the halls of Galactica; she was on auto-pilot. She ended up in the hallway full of the missing. She walked the wall slowly, looking at the photos of the friends and family of her crewmates. One picture caught her eye. It was a picture of a gray hair woman. She had sparkling blue eyes that smiled at her. Those eyes were familiar to her. They were the same eyes as Private Dumas. One of the marines she had befriended her first days aboard. This must have been his grandmother. Dumas talked about her endlessly. How she worked three jobs just to support him and his younger sister. After the decommission he was going to spend a few weeks with her on Picon. He had invited her out there to his grandmother's house. He always bragged about her baking. He knew how much she loved brownies and according to him his grandmother's was the best in the 12 colonies.

She continued down the hallway fiddling with the photo of her parents. There were so many souls on the wall. So many good people like Dumas' grandmother. She didn't know what to do, so she just stood there. She felt a hand on her shoulder. She turned to see who it was. Kara stood there with a solemn look on her face.

Kara looked over Dee's shoulder at the picture in her hand. They all looked like a happy family in the photo. Dee had a huge smile on her face. Her father had his arms around her. He seemed so proud of her. Her mother beamed also. She had the same bright green eyes as her father. She even had a smile like his.

"The last time I spoke to him…I said some pretty horrible things to him. I told him I never wanted to see him again. My mom was crying in the background begging us to stop fighting…"

Kara squeezed her shoulder tighter. She took the picture from Dee's hand. Her eyes scanned the wall until she found a perfect spot to pin the photo. They both stood back and stared at the photo. Dee took a small note pad from her pocket. She wrote in small letters "Olympic Carrier 1,345." Then she pinned the paper next to her photo.

Kara bowed her head. "Lords of Kobal into your hands we entrust our brothers and sisters. In this life you embraced them with your love; deliver them now from every evil and bid them enter into eternal rest. Welcome them then into paradise, where there will be no sorrow, no weeping or pain, but the fullness of peace and joy."  
"So say we all." Dee said quietly.

Kara smiled slightly. " Well, I have nice warm cell waiting for me…get some sleep Dee."

"Bye Kara." Dee watched Kara leave. She stood there and gazed at her parents for a few more minutes before she left to her rack.


End file.
